


Home is Wherever I'm With You

by thesynapticsnap



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anniversary, Established Relationship, First Time, Fluff, Heavy Petting, M/M, Making Out, Misunderstandings, Self Confidence Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2018-11-18 15:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11293905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesynapticsnap/pseuds/thesynapticsnap
Summary: It’s been one month since Lance officially started dating Shiro, and he wants to celebrate the occasion. Things have been going great and their friends assure him Shiro is head-over-heels for him...but Lance can’t help but feel a little worried. If Shiro likes him so much, why haven’t they been intimate yet?





	1. Keith, Hunk, & Pidge

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a light-hearted, fluffy fic with minimal angst to offset my other current Shance WIP haha. I am planning to make this 4 chapters total, with the final chapter being NSFW. I haven't determined whether the final chapter will warrant an 'M' or an 'E' rating yet, but the rating WILL be updated once it's posted and I will also add additional tags pertaining to the NSFW content.
> 
> Enjoy! :D

“So is Shiro like a virgin or what?”

Keith slowly lowered the tablet he’d been reading and stared straight ahead, forcing his expression to remain neutral. No one was allowed to accuse him of lacking patience ever again. _Especially_ Shiro.

“Lance. That is something you need to ask Shiro. Not me.”

Lance and Shiro had started dating a month ago. Keith didn’t have a problem with that in itself -- though he and Lance still tended to butt heads, it wasn’t like they were actually ‘arch rivals’ or whatever the fuck Lance seemed to believe. Keith could admit there were plenty of things about Lance that made him a pretty good guy, and more importantly, a good match for Shiro.

Admittedly, he had been skeptical at first. He’d thought surely Lance’s excitable personality would prove incompatible with Shiro’s more serious nature, but as it turned out, they balanced one another out quite nicely. Since they’d gotten together, Lance had toned down his flirting and goofing around during missions, while Shiro had loosened up during their downtime. Seeing Shiro smile and laugh again the way he had before Kerberos was what had really settled it for Keith. Lance made Shiro happy, and that made Keith happy.

What Keith wasn’t so happy about, however, was the fact he’d suddenly become Lance’s confidant in regards to all things Shiro. _All_ things. Things he really, really didn’t want to know about a man he considered a brother figure.

“It’s been a month, Keith! We’ve been dating a whole month and Shiro hasn’t tried to jump me once! ” Lance declared, oblivious to his discomfort as usual. “Like we’ll be making out and I can feel that he’s hard--”

“Lance--” Keith’s eye twitched.

“--but every time I try to touch him there he just gets really red and finds some excuse to run away! I mean it’s kind of cute, but like, am I seriously his first?”

Keith continued to stare into the void as he tried to come up with a reply that wasn’t a total violation of Shiro’s privacy.

“I don’t think it’s that,” he settled on finally.

Lance noticeably deflated.

“Oh. Well then… is he not into guys or something?”

“No. He’s--” Keith pinched the bridge of his nose before finally turning to give Lance an incredulous look. “Really, Lance? He’s the one who asked _you_ out.”

“Yeah, I know, I just…” Lance looked down, starting to fiddle with his hands the way he did whenever he was nervous. He was quiet for a minute before gazing back up at Keith. “Then...do you think he changed his mind about me?”

“Lance…” Keith sighed. “Don’t. Just don’t.”

“I mean, I know I’m not--”

“ _Lance_.”

Keith stood up and came to stand in front of Lance, crossing his arms and regarding him with a stern expression.

“This is the last time I’m going to say this. You’re good enough for him, all right? Stop thinking you have to prove you’re worthy to be with him or whatever. I get that you’ve had Shiro on a pedestal up until now, but I’ve known him a long time and trust me, he’s human.”

Lance managed a small smile.

“It’s just...I’ve looked up to him for so long, dude. It’s hard to believe a guy like Shiro actually likes me back.”

“Well he does, Lance, so stop trying to convince yourself that he secretly hates you.” Keith hesitated, knowing he was probably going to regret his next words. “And I’m sure he wants to...do things with you. He’s just kinda old-fashioned about that stuff.”

“Oh god, please tell me I’m not going to have to marry the guy to get laid!” Lance exclaimed, all of his insecurity seeming to evaporate the moment sex was back on his mind. _Typical_. “I mean, I’m totally down with marrying Shiro, I just don’t know if I can wait that long to--”

“Ugh, Lance. This conversation is over. Just go talk to Shiro! _Please_.”

 

* * *

 

Lance let Keith shoo him off, but he didn’t go in search of Shiro. Instead, he headed straight to the kitchen.

Just as he expected, he found Hunk there hard at work. Hunk had talked Coran into letting him purchase a wide assortment of ingredients that might supplement their food goo diet during their last supply run, and ever since then he’d been spending all of his free time in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes.

Pidge was there with him today, sitting on the countertop with a computer in her lap and swinging her legs back and forth.

“Pidge? Are you actually helping Hunk cook something?” Lance said, grinning. “I didn't think there was a single domestic bone in your body. Who knew!”

“Yeah, as if,” Pidge snorted, not even glancing up from her laptop.

“Pidge is my official taste tester, dude,” said Hunk. “Though there’s always room for one more if you’re interested.”

“Hm, tempting...but I actually came by to ask you for a favor. Think you could whip up a cake?”

“Uh, I think I’ve got the ingredients for that here. What’s the occasion? It’s not somebody’s birthday is it? Crap, please don’t tell me I missed Coran’s birthday after he bought me all this stuff. Do Alteans even celebrate birthdays?”

“Calm down, buddy, it’s for something else,” Lance chuckled. “Uh...today’s actually my one-month anniversary with Shiro.”

“One-month anniversary?” Pidge said, finally looking up at him. “Do people really celebrate things like that? I mean, being together for just a month?”

“Well uh...I just thought…” Lance felt some of the self-consciousness from before creep back up on him. Honestly, now that Pidge had pointed it out, it did seem a little ridiculous to celebrate such a minor milestone in his relationship with Shiro. Maybe Shiro would even be weirded out by it, thinking him clingy or obsessed.

“Aw, Lance, I think that’s sweet,” Hunk said. “I’d be happy to make you guys something for your anniversary.”

“Yeah, actually, I dunno…” Lance muttered, rubbing at the back of his head. “Pidge is right, it’s kind of stupid to celebrate after only a month…”

“No, man, it’s not stupid!” Hunk directed a little frown at Pidge before turning back to Lance. “Come on, let me bake you a cake. Oh, oh! And I can even cook a nice romantic dinner for you guys too! I’ve got everything here for an awesome steak dish...uh, as long as you don’t ask me where I got the meat…”

“Thanks Hunk, but nah… maybe I’ll hit you up in like six months or something. If this thing even lasts that long…”

“Ugh, Lance,” Pidge groaned, shutting her laptop and setting it on the counter. “Look, I wasn’t saying you shouldn’t celebrate. Personally I don’t get all that mushy stuff, but that doesn’t mean Shiro wouldn’t like it.”

“But I mean, you’ve kinda got a point… one month isn’t really that big a deal.”

“Lance,” Pidge said, letting her glasses slip down her nose to look at him. “You’ve basically been a couple ever since you jumped in front of that laser blast to save Shiro’s life. That was what, like three months ago?”

“More like four,” Hunk said.

“Four months. We’ve had to put up with you guys making goo-goo eyes at each for four months now. Just because you didn’t count it as a relationship until you actually screwed--”

“That is NOT when I started counting it!” Lance declared. “Our anniversary is the day he officially asked me out!”

Pidge didn’t look like she believed him. The joke was on her, though, since Lance hadn’t even slept with Shiro yet. Keith was the only one he’d actually told about that unfortunate fact, in hopes he might be able to offer some insight as why Shiro still hadn’t made a move. He was grateful the red paladin apparently hadn’t mentioned his lack of a sex life to the others.

“My point is...you should go ahead and celebrate,” Pidge said. “Hell, I’ll even set up some mood lighting in the dining hall or something.”

“Let's do it, dude,” said Hunk. “Not to be a downer or anything, but you might not get another chance to do something like this. And I’m not saying that because I think you guys are gonna break up or anything, it’s just...there’s a certain risk that comes with being defenders of the universe, you know?”

A somber quiet fell over the kitchen then. Hunk was right of course… although things had been fairly uneventful lately, there was no telling when Zarkon and the Galra would strike again. They were still fighting a war, and it was unlikely to be over anytime soon.

“Geez, Hunk, you really know how to lift the mood, huh?” said Lance, though he was smiling softly. “All right. I’m gonna take you up on that offer of a nice romantic dinner. Pidge, that mood lighting better be on point. Oh! And music! We need music! Maybe some flowers as a centerpiece--”

“You’re gonna take what you get and like it, pal,” Pidge said.

“Crap, I better find something decent to wear while you guys work on that,” Lance muttered, looking down at himself. The jacket and jeans he usually wore had taken quite a beating during their time in space. “Do we even have other clothes on the ship aside from the paladin armor?”

“Coran might know,” Hunk suggested. “He was in the engine room working on something earlier this morning. Might want to check there first.”

Lance headed off once more, promising to be back in time for dinner. Hopefully Coran would be able to help him find an outfit dashing enough to impress his awesome boyfriend.


	2. Kolivan, Slav, & Coran

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I intended for this chapter to include Allura as well, but her part got a bit longer than I expected so it will be part of chapter 3 instead. 
> 
> Enjoy!

After half an hour of aimless wandering, Lance was ready to admit he had no idea where he was going.

On the handful of occasions he’d actually needed to visit the ship’s engine room, someone else had always been with him to lead the way. He’d thought he recalled enough vague details from those few times to get himself there on his own, but…apparently not. Now he was totally lost in some part of the ship that he bet even Coran and Allura hadn’t stepped foot in in ages.

The place was kind of giving him the creeps. It was eerily quiet all around, even the ever-present rumble of the ship’s air filtration system seemingly absent, and the lights along the hallways were at their dimmest settings, barely allowing him to see more than a few feet ahead of him at any given time. He kind of wished he’d thought to bring his bayard with him. If there was some freaky alien predator secretly stowed away on the ship, this would certainly be the best place to find it…

“Blue.”

Lance screamed, whipping around so fast he tripped right over his own feet and fell flat on his ass. Panicked, he tried to scramble away from whatever horrible creature had snuck up behind him, but stopped when he got a good look at his ‘attacker’.

“Jesus Christ,” he breathed, clutching at his heart. “Kolivan, buddy, we’ve talked about this.”

“My apologies,” Kolivan said, not sounding very sorry at all.

Kolivan had this “thing” about skulking around and scaring the shit out of people at inopportune moments. Lance still wasn’t sure if it was a Galra trait or something unique to Kolivan, but whatever it was he was not into it. Part of him was convinced Kolivan was just a huge troll who got a kick out of their reactions, but there was no way to be sure of that since the guy had a total of like, two facial expressions (and that was Lance being generous).

“So uh...whatcha doing down here?” Lance asked as he got to his feet.

“Just surveying this area of the ship to assure everything is in order.”

That sounded a lot like moody Galra speak for “I’m lost, dude” to Lance. He didn’t get a chance to confirm that though, as another figure suddenly came tumbling out of the nearby darkness and sidled in between them.

“Ah! There you are, blue paladin!” Slav declared. “I have been looking everywhere for you!”

“Uh...me?”

Lance had expected Slav to just blow him off and start chatting up Kolivan, who was one of the few people onboard that Slav actually seemed to enjoy spending time with. Why those two meshed so well Lance couldn’t say, but they were often in one another’s company during downtime. Perhaps Slav just appreciated having someone who listened to him without walking away in the middle of whatever he was saying. Kolivan was a master at standing there and letting Slav talk at him for hours.

“Well, I was not actually looking for you specifically,” Slav clarified. “I was hoping to encounter Mr. Shirogane, but you will do, I suppose.”

Shiro was another person Slav liked quite a lot, but the feeling definitely wasn’t mutual in that case. He wasn’t surprised to hear Slav hadn’t been able to find him. Shiro tended to make himself scarce whenever he caught wind that Slav was nearby.

“I wanted to offer my congratulations to Mr. Shirogane,” Slav continued before Lance could even get his mouth open to ask him what he wanted to tell Shiro. “My records indicate that today is a special occasion for the two of you! According to your species’ illogical method of measuring time, a full Terran cycle has passed since you and Mr. Shirogane became romantically involved.”

It took Lance’s brain a few seconds to decode Slav’s prattle.

“Oh, uh yeah, today is our one month anniversary. That’s...totally not creepy that you keep track of that kind of thing. Uh, thanks, I guess.”

“I offer my congratulations as well,” Kolivan said, sounding more like he was offering his condolences. “The black paladin is an ideal mate. He has proven himself a fierce warrior and carries a virile scent. He will give you many strong children in the years to come.”

Lance suddenly had a lot of questions about the Galra he wasn’t really sure he wanted answered.

“Kids, yeah… I uh, don’t think Shiro’s gonna be knocking me up anytime soon,” Lance said, laughing nervously. “Biology and stuff. Kinda...kinda makes that impossible. Yeah.”

Even if it _had_ been possible, they’d actually need to have sex to make a baby...and that was definitely not happening at the moment.

“Perhaps in this reality it is impossible, but there are many alternate realities in which Mr. Shirogane is able to impregnate you, even when you are male!” Slav piped in, ever determined to be the most awkward person in any given conversation. “One of these alternate universes, which I have named the “omega verse”--”

“Lance! There you are, my boy!”

Oh thank god. The voice that interrupted them this time belonged to someone Lance actually didn’t mind encountering in a creepy abandoned hallway. Coran, wonderful, handsome, brilliant Coran, emerged from the darkness like a mustached angel come to sweep him out of weird alien Hell.

“Coran! Just the man I wanted to see!” Lance exclaimed, flashing him his best smile as he scooted up beside him. He leaned in close and whispered his next words against Coran’s ear. “Please get me the hell out of here. Now.”

Coran was a pretty awesome dude overall, but perhaps one of his most outstanding qualities was his ability to remove himself and affiliated parties from an uncomfortable situation at the speed of light. In other words, he got Lance the hell out of there immediately.  

It quickly became apparent that he actually _was_ familiar with that part of the castle too, as he wove them in and out of the corridors with a practiced ease.

“Dude, Coran, where the hell are we even at right now?” he asked once he felt they were safely out of earshot of Kolivan and Slav.

“Ah! This would be the annex King Alfor intended to convert into additional living spaces!”

“More bedrooms? What, so the paladins could switch it up whenever they got bored or something?”

“Well, originally we’d hoped the paladins’ families would be able to travel with them on our journeys,” said Coran, and Lance noted the sadness in his normally chipper tone. “Obviously we er, put those plans on hold after Zarkon’s betrayal.”

Oh. Yeah, ok, that made sense.

“Wow… I guess I forget this place wasn’t always a flying war machine.”

“It’s easy to forget, considering you’ve only seen it used for such. Even I forget at times. But of late it has seemed a bit more like a home, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed. He thought of the nights he spent cuddled up with Shiro, pretending they were just a couple of normal guys happily lazing their lives away without a care in the world. He thought of the taste of one of Hunk’s warm cookies on his tongue, of Pidge’s laughter against his ear as he carried her piggyback through the hallways for no particular reason on random nights. He thought of the swell of happiness he felt whenever he caught Keith watching him with Shiro, silent approval reflected in his eyes.

“So I hear today marks one month since you and Shiro began courting one another,” Coran said after a moment, giving him a wink. “You were hoping I might be able to provide you with some formal wear for the occasion, eh?”

“Guess you ran into Hunk and Pidge, huh? Yeah, I just...I know it’s probably overkill, but I kind of wanted to dress up for Shiro tonight.”

“Overkill? Nonsense!” Coran scoffed. “I’ve got just the thing for a handsome young man looking to woo the object of his affection. Certainly worked for me back in the day…”

Coran winked at him again, and Lance stuck out his tongue in mock-disgust.

“Oh man, please tell me you washed this thing…”

“Washed? Why would I need to wash it? It wasn’t like I was wearing it when I--”

“La la la la, not listening!” Lance declared, clapping his hands over his ears.

“All right, all right,” Coran chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. “Teasing aside, I do want you to know I truly am happy to see you and Shiro together. I worried the two of you would simply pine after one another for the rest of time for a while there.”

“Well...that probably would have been the case if Shiro hadn’t asked me,” Lance admitted.

“Because you didn’t think he felt the same way?”

“That and like...I thought he’d make a big deal out of the fact he’s technically my boss or whatever. Figured he’d shut me down with the good ol’ ‘fraternization’ excuse, even though we all know he’s literally incapable of putting the life of any of us over another.”

Shiro had brought that sort of thing up when he asked him out, but it’d been mostly teasing. He’d told Lance not to expect any favoritism when it came to cleaning duty, and later made a point of giving him the worst assignment just to prove to Lance and everyone else he was not kidding.

“Well, it can be trouble whenever someone’s lover is also their superior...and the struggle is not always the leader’s,” Coran said, looking rather wistful for a moment. Something clicked for Lance then. It suddenly made sense why Coran had been one of the first ones to catch onto his crush on Shiro...he apparently knew firsthand what it was like to be in love with his hero and leader. “But I’m certain that won’t be a problem in this case. The love between the two of you is equally shared.”

“Yeah,” Lance said softly. “Equally shared. Totally.”

He fell silent as he continued to follow after Coran. By now they were back in a well-lit area of the castle that Lance recognized, and he figured they were getting close to wherever Coran had the formal wear stored.

He knew he shouldn’t linger on his doubts about Shiro’s feelings. Shiro had been the one to ask him out in the first place, and all of their friends -- even freaking Keith! -- constantly assured him that Shiro liked him. It was just hard to understand why someone who loved him wouldn’t want to be intimate with him. It wasn’t like Shiro was asexual (he’d confirmed this with resident Shiro expert, Keith), and on a few occasions they’d gotten really, really close to doing something...

But every time, Shiro drew away at the last second and fled the scene. Somehow he always found a way to dodge any questions regarding this behavior whenever Lance tried to ask him the following day, and eventually the need to know faded. Until it happened again. And again. And again.

“Here we are!” Coran said, his voice drawing Lance out of his brooding. He typed in the keycode to a door they’d come upon, and led Lance inside once it opened. “Stay right there, I know exactly what you need!”

Lance looked around the room as he waited for Coran to retrieve the outfit. It seemed to be just a small storage room, fairly empty aside from some furniture and boxes. There wasn’t much for Coran to rummage through before he found what he was looking for and presented the outfit to Lance.

“Ta-da!” Coran said, beaming. “My old suit from when I was just 250-years-old, give or take. What do you think?”

“It’s great,” said Lance, genuine. It was a darker, slightly sleeker version of the outfit Coran typically wore in the present day. Definitely suave. “Are you sure it’s okay if I borrow this, Coran?”

“Keep it! I’m honored to pass down one of my suits to a paladin of Voltron.”

Lance smiled and came forward to hug Coran. No one could ever replace his real dad back on Earth, but Coran was definitely his Honorary Second Father forever after all they’d been through together.

“Thanks, man. I mean it,” Lance said as he stepped back. “I’m...I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you and... the person you loved.”

“Don’t be,” Coran said gently, patting Lance on the shoulder. “Just make the most of the gift you’ve been given, my boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's be real, Slav totally invented all the AUs out there.
> 
> In the next chapter Lance will talk with Allura a bit, and then he finally gets to have his dinner with Shiro :')


	3. Allura & Shiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this turned out a bit differently than I initially planned, but I think it works. Bit of angst in this part, folks! D: And some heavy petting toward the end...
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy!

Coran’s old suit fit Lance like a glove.

Lance spent a good while admiring himself in the mirror after slipping into it. It was strange seeing himself dressed in formal attire after a year of alternating between nothing but paladin armor and his raggedy clothes from Earth. He looked dashingly handsome, of course, but part of him wondered if the suit was perhaps _too_ formal.

“You’ve been dating Shiro for a month and here you are, dressed up like a bridegroom,” he muttered to his reflection.

He recalled his earlier words to Keith… _‘I mean, I’m totally down with marrying Shiro…’_ ...but he hadn’t meant _now_. He really needed to get to know Shiro a little better and all, and he wasn’t stupid enough to think marriage was even remotely on the radar while they were out here in the middle of space fighting a war. They needed to focus on defeating the Galra Empire before they even thought of discussing such things.

...and yet he’d just spent an entire day screwing around so he could surprise Shiro with a romantic evening to celebrate their one-month anniversary.

“Christ, what the hell was I thinking?” Lance said to his reflection. He began pawing at the buttons of his suit, suddenly desperate to tear off the formalwear and go hide under the covers of his bed, but then a knock at the door interrupted his meltdown.

He stared at the door, unwilling to ask who was outside.

_‘Please don’t be Shiro…’_

“Lance? Are you in there?” came Allura’s voice after a few seconds, causing Lance to breathe out a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, uh, I’m here,” he answered.

“May I come in?”

“I...uh…” He wondered if he should tell her to wait so he could change into his regular clothes, but said ‘screw it’. “Yeah, hold on…”

He went to the door and entered the code to unlock it, then stepped aside to allow Allura inside.

“My, don’t you look handsome?” she said, smiling at him as she passed by him to go sit on the edge of his bed.

“Why Princess, did you come here hoping to seduce me?” Lance replied, glad for the opportunity to slip into his usual flirtatious mode. Flirty Lance was far more appealing than ‘in-the-middle-of-a-crisis’ Lance. “I’ll have you know I’m spoken for. You should have grabbed me up when you had the chance.”

“Oh, what could have been,” Allura said, sighing dramatically and throwing her arm across her forehead. After a moment, she eased her arm to her side and looked up at him with a serious expression. “Lance, I actually came here because I wanted to talk with you...about you and Shiro.”

Of all their friends, Allura had been the least enthused about Lance and Shiro’s new relationship. While she hadn’t blatantly said she disapproved of them dating, Lance had noticed she hadn’t exactly jumped for joy when Shiro told her the news. Lance expected it had something to do with the fact a romantic relationship between paladins could have a negative impact on Voltron, but Allura had never actually brought it up, at least with him.

“Lance...I think you should know that you and Shiro are not the first paladins to become romantically involved.”

Beyond what little Allura and Coran had mentioned about Zarkon and King Alfor’s marriages, Lance couldn’t recall ever hearing anything else about the former paladins’ love lives.

“So...is this the part where you tell me the last time it happened it ended in total devastation?” Lance ventured.

Allura didn’t reply immediately.

“No, it wasn’t like that. It...it was complicated,” she said after a moment. “There was a relationship in which one paladin felt a great deal more strongly than the other, and ultimately they did not remain together.”

“Oh…”

“I’ve come to care deeply for both you and Shiro in our time together. I don’t want to see either of you hurt, so I thought perhaps it was best I spoke to you about this before your relationship progressed any further. There...there is a way to be certain that you are truly in love with one another.”

Lance’s heart began to race.

“Lance...I know you have doubts as to the depths of Shiro’s feelings for you,” Allura said, her expression growing somewhat sad. “I’ve seen you distance yourself from him more and more often of late, and I’ve overheard you speaking with Keith…”

“So you think I’m right,” Lance blurted. “You think Shiro doesn’t really love me.”

“I cannot say how Shiro truly feels about you, Lance. I think he cares for you a great deal, and I think everyone in this castle would agree with me when I say that. Shiro himself tells you that he loves you quite frequently, does he not?”

“Yeah, but--”

“But you’re still not convinced,” Allura said with a sigh. “Lance, no matter how many times any of us tell you that Shiro loves you, you don’t believe it. So because you’re so stubborn, I’m giving you a way to be certain once and for all.”

Allura reached into the folds of her dress and retrieved a small box, opening it to reveal a pair of clear, crystal rings.

“These belonged to the former paladins who were...together,” Allura said, shoving the box in Lance’s hand.

“They’re um, pretty?” Lance offered.

“These are no ordinary rings. They were made from the same comet Voltron is comprised of, and have magical properties. The paladin who forged these found that when he put his on, it turned the color of his beloved’s lion. He was so excited to give his lover the second ring and watch it turn the color of his lion, but when he gifted it to him the ring remained clear… and he realized that it did not change because he was not the other’s true love.”

“So...what happened then?”

“Well, it was quite upsetting for them both, but it did not exactly come as a surprise either. They’d been carrying on their affair in secret, and neither had really expected anything like marriage to come of it,” Allura said. “They remained good friends. The rings were put aside and forgotten, and eventually they both married others. Both seemed happy enough in the end I’m told…”

“So ok...back to the rings. Let me make sure I’ve got this -- if Shiro really loves me, the ring should turn blue when he puts it on. And if he doesn’t feel that way about me, it’ll stay clear.”

“Correct,” Allura said, nodding. “And your ring should turn black when you put it on.”

Lance gazed down at the sparkling rings.

He’d only met Shiro like a year ago, and they’d only been officially romantically involved for a month. Even if they’d totally been thrown together by fate like destined soulmates, it was still a little uncomfortable being so deeply, impossibly in love with a man he barely knew. Especially when he wasn’t sure Shiro felt even a fraction of the intense desire that had utterly consumed him...

“You know…part of me doesn’t want to know,” he mumbled. “But...I think it’s for the best if I do.”

Allura reached out and squeezed his shoulder, smiling softly.

“I have no doubt this will only confirm what we’ve all been telling you all along...and if it doesn’t...well…” Her expression grew somber once again. “Wouldn’t you rather know sooner than later?”

“Yeah. Yeah, honestly I would,” Lance said with a sigh.

“Lance, I don’t think it’s going to be the same as it was for them…really, I’m not trying to hurt you or Shiro by doing this...”

“Hey…” Lance pulled her into a hug. When he drew back to look at her, he’d managed to put on his best fake smile. “Either way, you’re doing us a favor. And like you said, I’ve probably got nothing to worry about.”

Lance pocketed the case containing the rings and thanked Allura, feeling more nervous than ever.

 

* * *

 

Lance had to hand it to Pidge -- she’d done a damn good job with the mood lighting in the dining hall, and despite her grumbling she had also managed to procure a bouquet of flowers and arrange a lovely centerpiece. She’d already laid out the plates, glasses, and silverware as well, and was just lighting the last of a few candles on the table when Lance arrived.

“Hunk just told Shiro to come down to the dining hall,” Pidge told him. “He’s coming from his room so he should be here any minute. You take it from here, lover boy.”

Pidge rushed away as soon as she’d completed her task, leaving Lance alone in the dimly lit room. He debated on whether to sit down or stand, ultimately deciding to stay on his feet until Shiro got there. He could feel his heartbeat growing faster with each passing second, panic threatening to overwhelm him at any moment.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the doors to the dining hall finally opened. Shiro took a few steps forward before stumbling to a halt, blinking his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room.

“Well good evening,” Lance said, causing Shiro to turn toward him. Shiro’s eyebrows raised in surprise seeing Lance in his new attire.

“Lance…?”

“Please, come and have a seat,” said Lance, pulling out one of the chairs for Shiro and gesturing for him to sit.

Shiro gave him a confused little smile, but accepted the offered chair and let Lance seat him.

“What’s all this about?” Shiro asked, still smiling at him as Lance took a seat next to him.

“Well...it just so happens to be our one month anniversary.”

“Oh…” Shiro’s smile faded. “I...didn’t realize we’d be celebrating that.”

“I uh, I just...I thought it’d be nice to…” Lance felt sweat begin to bead on the back of his neck. “Oh god, I really didn’t mean to be weird, dude. I’m sorry I made this weird.”

“No! No, Lance, it’s not weird,” Shiro said, reaching out to place his hand over one of Lance’s. “This is wonderful. I just...wish I’d have known so I could have done something for you too. Or at least dressed up a little.”

“No, that’s ok! I uh, wanted to surprise you. You didn’t need to get me anything...as long as you don’t think I’m totally creepy for going all out for a one-month anniversary, that’s good enough for me.”

“I definitely don’t think you’re creepy for this, Lance,” Shiro said softly. He squeezed Lance’s hand and then leaned over to place a chaste kiss on his forehead. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Just then, the doors at the opposite end of the room whooshed open. Hunk, fully decked out in chef’s attire, swept in carrying a platter of food. The smell of his cooking wafted across the room as he neared, and Lance was already salivating by the time he finally reached the table and served them.

“Wow, this is amazing, Hunk!” Shiro declared after taking a bite of his entree. “This tastes exactly like steak back on Earth! How did you manage that?”

“Eh heh, a good chef never tells his secrets,” Hunk said, suddenly looking a bit nervous for some reason. “Well, you gentleman enjoy your dinner, and I’ll be back with dessert in a bit!”

Lance watched Hunk hurry off, disappearing back into the kitchen.

“Wonder what’s... _eating_ him,” Lance said, flashing Shiro a grin. His boyfriend rolled his eyes at his awful attempt at a pun, but smiled at him all the same.

That small smile was enough to tide Lance over for much of the dinner, allowing him to forget his anxiety and all the doubts he’d harbored throughout the day. Just sitting there with Shiro in the dimly lit room, enjoying their dinner by candlelight, made Lance happier than he’d been in a long while. But as time went on, his good mood waned, and the uneasiness from before began to weigh on him once more.

Lance tried to just focus on his meal, hoping he could force the feelings down. He was startled from his thoughts when he felt the cool metal of Shiro’s Galra hand gently close around his wrist.

“Everything ok?” Shiro asked. Shiro always knew when something was bothering him.

“Yeah. Yeah, I just…” Lance moved his free hand to feel the box he’d tucked into his pants pocket earlier. He knew he was going to lose his nerve if he waited much longer. “Hey uh, so, I’ve actually got another surprise for you.”

Lance tugged his wrist from Shiro’s grasp and scooted his chair back before getting on the floor and awkwardly arranging himself on one knee at Shiro’s feet.

“Ok, before you freak out, I am NOT proposing,” Lance quickly clarified, noting the stunned look on his boyfriend’s face. “This is just a gift, I just...Jesus Christ, why did I get down here like this…”

“Lance,” Shiro said, his human hand falling to cup Lance’s face. “You’re fine. Just breathe.”

“Right,” said Lance, inhaling and exhaling a deep breath before reaching into his pocket and taking out the box. His hands were shaking as he opened it, and he watched Shiro’s face as he revealed the two crystal rings inside.

“They’re beautiful,” Shiro said quietly. He moved his human hand from Lance’s face and held it out in a way that would allow Lance to slide the ring onto one of his fingers.

Hands still trembling, Lance took one of the rings from the box and decided to try for Shiro’s ring finger. It easily slipped on, some magic likely adjusting it to a perfect fit. It shimmered against the pale skin of Shiro’s hand in the faint light cast by the candles and dim lighting overhead.

Crystal clear. Bright as the diamonds of home.

Lance was too shocked to cry. He just remained there on the floor, clasping Shiro’s hand in his own. Even after all he’d said to the others, after he’d told himself again and again that Shiro couldn’t possibly love him, in his heart of hearts he’d never really believed it. He’d thought surely he was wrong, that it was just his insecurity that made him doubt Shiro’s feelings...but now he knew the truth.

“Oh,” he heard Shiro gasp, his voice seeming a million miles away. “Look Lance, it’s changing color!”

Lance blinked, and in the next instant the ring on Shiro’s hand was transforming before his very eyes. It was if someone had spilled ink into a pool of water, tendrils of color spreading throughout the crystal and rapidly tinting it a new shade.

Lance thought of the sea back home -- those cerulean waters he’d swam among all those years. Shiro’s ring was not the color of those familiar waves that crashed against the shore...it was the dark, dark blue of the ocean depths. Tiny pinpoints of crystal shimmered among the darkness, making it seem full of stars, a tiny ocean and little universe all at once there on Shiro’s hand.

_‘Blue’_ , was all Lance’s mind could process. _‘Blue. It’s blue. Blue...’_

Shiro couldn’t know what it meant. Lance hadn’t told him, there was no way he could possibly understand...but the way he looked from the ring to Lance, the adoration in his eyes…

“I love you so much, Lance,” Shiro whispered, and in the next moment Lance found himself pulled into Shiro’s lap, his boyfriend’s mouth on his.

Lance kissed him hungrily, feverishly. Shiro tasted faintly of the spices that had flavored their meal, and Lance vaguely wondered if Hunk had accidently (or perhaps purposely) slipped an aphrodisiac into the food, because Shiro had never kissed him so passionately before. Usually Shiro was so careful with him, kissing him like he was made of glass, but this time...this time Lance felt teeth biting at his bottom lip hard enough to bruise, felt a tongue forcing itself inside his mouth aside his own...

“Fuck,” he panted when they finally had to break apart for air. He kept his lips pressed against the corner of Shiro’s mouth as they both drew in breath, hoping to coax more of the forceful kissing out of Shiro once he’d recovered. Between them, Lance could feel the heat of Shiro’s erection pressing against his own bulge.

“Lance, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so…” Shiro began, but Lance kissed him before he could finish.

“I liked it,” Lance said huskily, reaching down to squeeze the bulge in Shiro’s pants. He felt Shiro tense and kissed him again. “Don’t run away this time, Shiro. I want this, I want you so bad…”

There was the slightest hesitation before Shiro claimed his lips, kissing him just as roughly as before.

_‘God, finally,’_ Lance thought. He tried his best to stroke Shiro through his pants, but found himself lost in the feeling of Shiro’s mouth on his own. Any hope to be able to concentrate on Shiro flew out the window the minute one of Shiro’s hands grabbed his ass and squeezed. Lance moaned brokenly against Shiro’s lips when he felt a finger rub between his cheeks. Even through the fabric of his pants and underwear, the sensation of Shiro’s finger pushing against his hole shot through him like lightening.

“Oh fuck, oh god, please,” he whimpered, breaking their kiss just to pant against Shiro’s shoulder and plead with him for more. “Please Shiro, yes…”

“Lance...fuck,” Shiro muttered. Lance whined as he felt Shiro move his hand away. “You make it so damn hard to hold back, baby...”

“So don’t,” Lance said, tugging at Shiro’s hand. “Why are you even trying to hold back, Shiro? Jesus, we both want it, please just…”

“Lance, stop, please. We can’t…”

Rage suddenly washed over Lance, and he leapt from Shiro’s lap before his boyfriend could say another word.

“Why the fuck do you keep doing this?!” Lance demanded, nearly shouting in his anger. “I’m your fucking boyfriend, Shiro! Boyfriends are kinda expected to want to make out and fuck each other, you know. And you _obviously_ want to! So what is, huh? Why do you keep rejecting me every time we get close to doing anything?”

“Lance, please don’t do this here--”

“No, I’m sick of this! I know as soon as we leave here you’re just going to avoid me until I stop asking what the hell is wrong with you!”

Lance felt sadness and shame suddenly overwhelm his fury, and tears begin to sting in the corner of his eyes. “I...I’m sorry, fuck… I...I mean god... is it because of something that happened with the Galra?”

Fuck...he’d been so selfish, so concerned with his own pleasure, that he hadn’t even considered that Shiro’s past trauma might play a part in his strange behavior. He’d never even thought to ask that before...

“No, Lance, it isn’t anything like that,” Shiro said softly, and Lance felt even more selfish because he found himself overwhelmingly relieved to receive that answer. “Please, let’s not argue. I’ve had such a wonderful evening with you. I’d hate for tonight to be ruined after you went to such trouble to make our anniversary so memorable.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Lance said miserably. “All I did was bug everyone else and they did all the work for me. And you probably had way more important stuff to do instead of coming to some stupid celebration...for what? Who even wants to celebrate a one-month anniversary besides a loser like me.”

“Lance…”

“Look, I’m just gonna go to bed, ok? I need to be alone for a while…”

Lance hurried out of the room before Shiro could stop him, never looking back.

 

* * *

 

When Lance awoke several hours after retreating to his room, the first thing he did was reach for the communicator on his bedside table.

Allura had given everyone communicators as an alternate means of keeping in touch aboard the ship when they didn’t have access to the comms in their paladin helmets. They functioned like a pager (something Lance found immensely funny, considering how advanced the rest of the castle’s technology was), allowing everyone to send and receive text messages to each other.

Lance had turned his off as soon as he’d gotten back to his room and then fallen into bed.

Finally awake, he pressed the on button and prepared himself for the messages that inevitably awaited him. Sure enough, the communicator indicated nine missed messages as soon as it booted up.

 

**20:32 HUNK**

_Hey buddy, you ok? You left before dessert… :( Shiro said you guys had a fight, you need to talk about it?_   
  


**20:38 HUNK**

_I’m always here for you man <3   
_ 

**20:42 SHIRO**

_Lance, I’m sorry for what happened earlier. Please know I love you.  
_  

**20:45 PIDGE**

_dude r u ok, what happened??_   
  


**20:48 CORAN**

_HOW DID THE DATE GO? :D  
_  

**21:16 HUNK**

_Lance? Are you there? Just wanted to let you know I saved the cake I made for you and Shiro. It’s in the fridge when you want it.  
_  

**22:34 HUNK**

_Buddy, please message me whenever you get this…  
_  

**22:43 SHIRO**

_I spoke with Hunk and he says you’re not returning his messages, so I guess you’ve probably got your comm turned off at the moment.  
_  

Lance’s heart nearly stopped when he reached the final message in the list.  
 

**22:46 SHIRO**

_Please come to my room whenever you turn your comm back on and see this message. Doesn’t matter what time it is. We need to talk._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, there's a happy ending!!
> 
> Also, reminder that the rating will go up and I'll add additional tags for NSFW content once chapter 4 is posted.


	4. Shiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's been a rough past couple months... sorry for the delayed update and the relatively short chapter, guys. I decided to go ahead and post what I had written tho and tack on another chapter for when I eventually write the smut lol. I may post another Shance fic that actually contains some smut here in a sec so... :]
> 
> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy!

Lance raised his shaking hand and knocked against the door to Shiro’s room. After giving only two soft knocks he dropped his arm to his side and slumped over, his gaze falling to the glowing keypad beside the door. He knew the code to Shiro’s room and normally would have just let himself in, but the mere thought of entering Shiro’s room right now was making him physically ill.

He heard movement from within the room and braced himself, trying to prepare for the inevitable heartbreak that was soon to come. Before he’d made his way to Shiro’s room, he’d made himself swear one thing -- he was not going to break down in front of Shiro.

That vow was broken the moment the door opened. Lance couldn’t bring himself to raise his head and look Shiro in the eye, but just standing in his presence was enough to shatter his control. His shoulders shook as he began to cry, tears streaming down his face and dripping onto the floor below.

“Lance?” Shiro said, his tone alarmed. He raised a hand as if to reach out and touch Lance, but Lance curled into himself before he could act.

“Just do it,” Lance sobbed. “Just say it and get it over with.”

“Lance, what are you talking about?” Shiro sounded genuinely confused, and for some reason that infuriated Lance more than anything else.

“Don’t play dumb,” Lance snapped, his anger providing him enough strength to stop sobbing and look Shiro in the eye for a moment.

“Lance, I honestly have no idea what’s going on right now.”

“We need to talk,” Lance said in a mocking tone. Being scornful was the only way he could manage to say the words without immediately bursting into tears again. “Come on Shiro, there’s only one thing that ever means!”

Shiro merely stared at him. Then, after a long pause, he slapped a hand to his forehead and groaned.

“Fuck. Lance, I’m not breaking up with you, I swear to god.”

Shiro looked at Lance before reaching out for him once again. This time Lance allowed the touch, letting Shiro cup his face with his human hand.

“I’m sorry I scared you, sweetheart. I didn’t realize how that might come across when I wrote it,” Shiro said. He rubbed his thumb over Lance’s cheek, brushing aside a tear trail.

“But you do want to talk,” Lance said hollowly, still not willing to believe this visit was going to end well for him.

“Yes, but not about breaking up with you or anything even remotely similar to that.” Shiro said,  frowning when Lance still remained slumped over. “Lance, I love you and you know that. Even if you doubted that before, wasn’t this enough to prove it once and for all?”

Shiro took his hand from Lance’s cheek and held it out in front of him, showing him the ring. It was still the deep, dark blue it’d been when Lance first slipped it onto Shiro’s finger.

“Did you talk to Allura, then?” Lance asked quietly.

“No, but I think I understand how these rings work,” said Shiro. “They turn the color that represents your soulmate.”

For the first time since he’d arrived, Lance felt something akin to hope awaken in him.

“Uh...sorta,” Lance mumbled. He was having trouble gathering his thoughts enough to explain, feeling dazed by Shiro’s use of the word ‘soulmate’ in reference to _him_. “I think it only works for paladins, and Allura never said anything about soulmates, just uh…”

“But it is blue because that’s your color, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, uh...Allura said it should change to the color of my lion if you, you know, truly loved me and stuff…”

“So stop worrying,” Shiro said gently.

He pulled Lance into the room and let the door shut behind them before making his way to the bed. Lance hovered near the doorway, watching Shiro rummage around in his bedside table for a minute. He only moved when Shiro finally located what he was searching for and gestured for him to come forward.

Shiro waited for Lance to sit on the edge of the bed before he kneeled in front of him with the ring box, echoing Lance’s gesture from a few hours ago. Unlike Lance, however, Shiro didn’t seem the least bit nervous. His hands were steady as he took the remaining ring from the box, and his eyes remained focused on Lance’s face even as he slipped it onto his finger.

“Don’t you want to look?” Lance said after a moment. Neither of them had broken eye contact since Shiro kneeled in front of him, and he didn’t want to be the first to crack.

“I don’t need to,” Shiro said, smiling up at him. “Come on, on the count of three we’ll both look. One...two...three.”

Lance drew in a sharp breath, forcing himself to glance down.

“ _What?_ ” he blurted, jerking his hand out of Shiro’s the moment he realized the ring hadn’t changed. “What the fuck? What -- this is bullshit, what--”

“It took a while for mine to change,” Shiro offered.

“Not this long!” Lance declared. He stared at the ring for several long seconds, as if his incredulous gaze alone could force it to change, before dropping his hand into his lap and looking up at Shiro. “I love you, Shiro. I fucking love you more than anything.”

“And I know that.”

“But...then why--” Lance glanced at the ring again, finding that it remained unchanged. “Why doesn’t it change? It should change, Shiro, it should be black…”

“Maybe it’s defective. It doesn’t matter Lance, I know that you love me--”

“It does matter!” Lance exclaimed, tears pricking in the corners of his eyes once more. “How the hell is this stupid alien ring going to tell me I don’t really love you when you’re all I ever think about? You’re the only person I’ve ever loved this way… why the fuck isn’t it changing?”

Shiro opened his mouth as if to speak, but Lance continued to ramble before he could say anything.

“No, no, fuck this,” Lance said firmly, sniffling. “I don’t care what this ring says, Shiro. Maybe I don’t deserve someone like you, but I still love you, dammit. I’m may not be the strongest or the smartest guy around, but fuck anyone who tries to tell me I don’t love the shit out of Takashi Shirogane.”

Lance reached down to pull off the ring and toss it aside, but he paused when he saw what had happened to it during his rant.

“It...it changed,” he said flatly, looking at up Shiro.

Shiro came to sit beside of him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“I’ve never had any doubt that you love me, Lance,” he said softly. “I’ve known it from the start, just like I knew I loved you. But I’m guessing this is probably the first time you’ve let yourself believe you’re capable of loving someone in the way you love me.”

“That...that doesn’t make any sense,” Lance mumbled, still fixated on the black ring on his ring finger, fearing it would lose its color if he looked away.

“It makes perfect sense. You can be very insecure in yourself, Lance, and sometimes that keeps you from realizing how much you mean to those around you. You overwork yourself and try to impress everyone because you think that’s the only way we’ll care about you… but you don’t need to keep doing that, Lance. You don’t have to work to prove you’re worthy of loving me or anyone else. I think you finally realized that tonight.”

Shiro pulled Lance into a tight embrace, and they stayed like that for several minutes before drawing apart. Lance could not help but glance at his and Shiro’s rings. Still black and blue, still there as proof he was loved, and that he was able to love Shiro the way his boyfriend _deserved_ to be loved.

“Well, I’m not sure this an entirely appropriate subject to discuss after all that,” Shiro said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “But er, the reason I asked you to come by was because I felt I owed you an explanation for why we haven’t...been intimate...yet.”

“You’re totally a virgin, aren’t you?” Lance said, smirking.

“No. No, I’m not a virgin, Lance,” Shiro replied, giving Lance a small smile of his own. “But I know that you are.”

Lance flushed red, his mind furiously trying to work out how Shiro had come to find out his shameful secret. He’d never shied from Shiro’s touches and always made a point of making the first move so his inexperience didn’t show. Could Hunk have told him? Hunk was the only one who knew, and he did have a tendency to overshare sometimes…

“Did Hunk tell you?” Lance groused, already mentally preparing for an angry confrontation with his best friend.

“No. No, Hunk didn’t tell me. I just sort of figured it out on my own, Lance. It’s not a bad thing.”

God, so did he...did he just give off some kind of “vibe”? Was he walking around constantly surrounded by some awkward virgin aura or something? His blush deepened.

“Oh yeah?” he snorted. “If it’s not a bad thing, why haven’t we boned? Huh?”

“I wanted to make sure your first time was with the right person, and I wanted to be certain that person was me.” Shiro’s hand fell to his thigh. “I’m certain now. Lance...if you’re ready, I’m ready.”

Lance drew in a sharp breath, finding himself at a loss for words. He should be screaming ‘YES’ so loud right now the whole universe heard, but instead…

“Lance?” Shiro said softly. “It’s ok if you want to wait a little longer--”

Lance felt Shiro’s hand slide from his thigh, but he grabbed it before Shiro could pull away completely. He watched Shiro’s face as he placed his hand against the seat of his pants, relishing the way Shiro’s eyes darkened and his mouth fell open in a quiet gasp.

“I want you to fuck me,” Lance said, voice husky, masking the nervousness just beneath the surface of his words.

“Are you sure--”

“Fuck me," Lance repeated. "I want your dick instead of me, Shiro. _Now_.”


End file.
